• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) has developed a dual-purpose metal cask for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel that has been generated by domestic light-water reactors. The metal cask was designed in compliance with international and domestic technology standards, and safety was the most important consideration in developing the design. It was designed to maintain its integrity for 50 years in terms of major safety factors. The metal cask ensures the minimization of waste generated by maintenance activities during the storage period as well as the safe management of the waste. An activation evaluation of the main body, which includes internal and external components of metal casks whose design lifetime has expired, provides quantitative data on their radioactive inventory. The radioactive inventory of the main body and the components of the metal cask were calculated by applying the MCNP5 ORIGEN-2 evaluation system and by considering each component's chemical composition, neutron flux distribution, and reaction rate, as well as the duration of neutron irradiation during the storage period. The evaluation results revealed that 10 years after the end of the cask's design life, $^{60}Co$ had greater radioactivity than other nuclides among the metal materials. In the case of the neutron shield, nuclides that emit high-energy gamma rays such as $^{28}Al$ and $^{24}Na$ had greater radioactivity immediately after the design lifetime. However, their radioactivity level became negligible after six months due to their short half-life. The surface exposure dose rates of the canister and the main body of the metal cask from which the spent nuclear fuel had been removed with expiration of the design lifetime were determined to be at very low levels, and the radiation exposure doses to which radiation workers were subjected during the decommissioning process appeared to be at insignificant levels. The evaluations of this study strongly suggest that the nuclide inventory of a spent nuclear fuel metal cask can be utilized as basic data when decommissioning of a metal cask is planned, for example, for the development of a decommissioning plan, the determination of a decommissioning method, the estimation of radiation exposure to workers engaged in decommissioning operations, the management/reuse of radioactive wastes, etc.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2018

Utilizing the heat of cooling water discharge of coal-fired power plant, pipeline investment costs for businesses that supply heat to agricultural facilities near power plants increase in proportion to installation distance. On one hand, the distance from the power plant is a factor that brings difficulties to secure economic efficiency. On the other, if the installation distance is short, there is a problem of securing the heating demands, facility houses, which causes economical efficiency to suffer. In this study, the economic efficiency of 1km length of standard heat pipeline was evaluated. The sensitivity of the heat pipe to the new length variation was analyzed at the level of government subsidy, amount of heating demand and the incremental rate of pipeline with additional government subsidy. As a result of the analysis, it was estimated that NPV 131 million won and IRR 15.73%. The sensitivity analysis showed that NPV was negative when the length of heat pipe facility exceeded 2.6 km. If the government supports 50% of the initial investment, the efficiency is secured within the estimated length of 5.3 km, and if it supports 80%, the length increases within 11.4 km. If the heat demand is reduced to less than 62% at the new length of the standard heat pipe, it is expected economic efficiency is not obtained. If the ratio of government subsidies to initial investment increases, the elasticity of the new bloc will increase, and the fixed investment, which is the cost of capital investment for one unit of heating demand, will decrease. This would result in a reduction in the cost of production per unit, and it would be possible to supply heat at a cheaper price level to the facility farming. Government subsidies will result in the increased economic availability of hot plumbing facilities and additional efficiencies due to increased demand. The greater government subsidies to initial investment, the less farms cost due to the decrease in the price per unit. The results of the study are significant in terms of the economic evaluation of the effectiveness of the government subsidy for the thermal power plant heat utilization project. The implication can be applied to any related pilot to come.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2014

The headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry procedure has been developed for the simultaneous determination of petroleum aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater. The advantages of SPME compared to traditional methods of sample preparation are ease of operation, reuse of fiber, portable system, minimal contamination and loss of the sample during transport and storage. SPME fiber, extraction time, temperature, stirring speed, and GC desorption time were key extraction parameters considered in this study. Among three kinds of SPME fibers, i.e., PDMS ($100{\mu}m$), CAR/PDMS ($75{\mu}m$), and PDMS/DVB ($65{\mu}m$), a $65{\mu}m$ PDMS/DVB fiber showed the most optimal extraction efficiencies covering molecular weight ranging from 78 to 202. Other extraction parameters were set up using $65{\mu}m$ PDMS/DVB. The final optimized extraction conditions were extraction time (60 min), extraction temperature (50), stirring speed (750 rpm) and GC desorption time (3 min). When applied to artificially contaminated seawater like water accommodated fraction, our optimized HS-SPME-GC/MS showed comparable performances with other conventional method. The proposed protocol can be an attractive alternative to analysis of BTEX and PAHs in seawater.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.383-397
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• 1999

For sites to be investigated, the results of such an investigation can be used in determining foals for cleanup, quantifying risks, determining acceptable and unacceptable risk, and developing cleanup plans t hat do not cause unnecessary delays in the redevelopment and reuse of the property. To do this, it is essential that an appropriately detailed study of the site be performed to identify the cause, nature, and extent of contamination and the possible threats to the environment or to any people living or working nearby through the analysis of samples of soil and soil gas, groundwater, surface water, and sediment. The migration pathways of contaminants also are examined during this phase. Key aspects of cost-effective site assessment to help standardize and accelerate the evaluation of contaminated soils at sites are to provide a simple step-by-step methodology for environmental science/engineering professionals to calculate risk-based, site-specific soil levels for contaminants in soil. Its use may significantly reduce the time it takes to complete soil investigations and cleanup actions at some sites, as well as improve the consistency of these actions across the nation. To achieve the effective site assessment, it requires the criteria for choosing the type of standard and setting the magnitude of the standard come from different sources, depending on many factors including the nature of the contamination. A general scheme for site-specific assessment consists of sequential Phase I, II, and III, which is defined by workplan and soil screening levels. Phase I are conducted to identify and confirm a site's recognized environmental conditions resulting from past actions. If a Phase 1 identifies potential hazardous substances, a Phase II is usually conducted to confirm the absence, or presence and extent, of contamination. Phase II involve the collection and analysis of samples. And Phase III is to remediate the contaminated soils determined by Phase I and Phase II. However, important factors in determining whether a assessment standard is site-specific and suitable are (1) the spatial extent of the sampling and the size of the sample area; (2) the number of samples taken: (3) the strategy of taking samples: and (4) the way the data are analyzed. Although selected methods are recommended, application of quantitative methods is directed by users having prior training or experience for the dynamic site investigation process.